Unintended Consequences of Memory Recovery
by InfiniteSeahorse
Summary: Paya helps Master Link recuperate after he encounters his first Lynel. The two get to know each other better over the course of a night.
1. Chapter 1

Paya kneeled in front of a squat stone frog, slowly sweeping the dirt from its offering bowl with a practiced and reverent motion. Every day after her lunch she performed the same sequence of events: Emerging from the house that she shared with her grandmother, she descended the front steps; greeted Dorian, the guard on duty; cleaned the row of statues; and ended the ritual by placing an apple at the foot of each statue. She was deep in a meditative reverie when the stillness was broken by a _SHOUT!_ She whirled around to discover the source of the noise, and spied two figures at the top of the hill leading to the shrine that overlooked the village. The first person was waving an arm for help while struggling to prevent the second from slumping completely to the ground.

Dorian started running up the road as the whisk broom slipped from Paya's grasp. Doors slammed open across the village and heads popped out to watch the procession. A voice called from a shop, "Lady Impa! Take him to Lady Impa's house!" _Him?_ A man, then, perhaps a trader ambushed on the way through the mountains. According to recent rumors, attacks from both monsters and the Yiga Clan had been becoming more frequent on the roads in the area.

Paya shifted nervously from one foot to the other as she waited for the people to come closer. She wanted to help, but didn't want to get in the way. Now she could see the two villagers carrying a body between them, his arms slung over the guards' necks and his feet scraping the ground. As they made their way down the road, Paya could make out more details. The man was wearing standard traveler's gear, filthy all over with clumps of mud, splashes of blood, and singed patches. Her eyes were drawn immediately to one clean spot: a lock of golden hair fell over his face like a shimmering, sun-struck waterfall. His eyes were obscured by that hair, but she didn't need to see them to know that they were a bright piercing blue, a blue that could see into her soul, because Paya had seen them before. She had seen _him_ before. It was Master Link, the recently awakened hero of Hyrule.

She turned and ran up the stairs, heart pounding painfully in her chest, calling over her shoulder, "Please, follow me! Bring him in here! Toward the back of the house!" The nervousness that had begun to rise in her stomach evaporated under the shock of seeing him injured. She opened the doors through the house on the way to the washroom, which was a spacious area large enough to fit laundry facilities as well as a bathing area. Paya moved to the corner, where a large pot of warm water hunkered over a small fire pit, and stoked the fire. While she was occupied, the men placed Link down on the table that was usually reserved for folding laundry and began removing his clothing.

"Thank you for offering your home to us," Cado said, unbuckling a strap that held together what remained of the adventurer's shirt. "It was a stroke of good luck that I was passing by the shrine at the right time. He materialized right on top of one of my escaped cucoos just as I was about to catch it! Frightened the poor bird half to death!" Link groaned as if apologizing for his bad timing. Cado continued, "Don't worry, lad, you couldn't have known that my prized, most favorite clucky-love was on your landing pad." That groan was the first noise he had made since coming into the village, and it attracted Paya's attention. Her head turned almost of its own accord to the scene at the table, and the more she took in, the more she knew she couldn't stay in the room.

"P-Please excuse me! I will let you work in privacy." She made a beeline for the door. "The water will be hot shortly and there's washcloths and soap in the cupboards...I'll be back with bandages and medicine!" Once she was on the other side of the door, Paya stopped to think. A vision of spilled blood, open wounds, and bruises blooming across the skin she had seen moments before engulfed her mind. How badly _was_ Master Link hurt? Was it an emergency? Should she get Grandmother?

She cracked the door open just wide enough to speak through. "E-excuse me again, but could you tell me, how bad is it? Should I fetch anybody else? Let me know what you need and I'll be right back."

"So far so good, Mistress Paya!" came Dorian's voice over the low sound of moaning and the intermittent splashing of water. "Nothing major, possible broken ankle, assorted lacerations and minor burns about the body..." was his succinct reply.

* * *

Impa sat on her customary stack of pillows, her ancient eyes fixed alertly on Paya as she came into the main room of the house. "Grandmother, I don't know how much you heard, but it's M-master Li-Link in there." She took a deep breath and shuddered as she let it out. "I don't know how he got hurt, but he's stable, and the guards are fixing him up. I just need to fetch some bandages and ointment, and, and..." Her voice failed as she looked down at her empty hands.

"Child, don't fret. I'm so proud of you." Grandmother's voice was like a warm hug, soothing her frazzled nerves and setting her thoughts back on track. "You're doing exactly what needs to be done. When you're finished getting the guards their things, why don't you clean your room and get it ready for Master Link to recuperate in?"

"Of course, Grandmother. That's a wonderful idea." The words came out automatically, as she focused more on the task at hand rather than give any attention to the vaguely terrifying idea of setting up her room for male occupancy.

Paya retrieved some jars of medicine and rolls of gauze bandages from a closet and made sure her eyes remained fixed on the floor when she returned to the washroom and handed them over to the guard. She wasn't sure why she felt so nervous whenever she got near Master Link. She wasn't particularly squeamish about blood, so she dismissed her feelings as just being fearful for his safety. After all, he was the hero who had been resurrected to vanquish the Calamity, and if he died again, he certainly couldn't do his job. After making sure that the men had all the supplies they needed, Paya then moved upstairs with fresh linens to prepare her room and bed for Link's recovery.

* * *

Time inched forward. The number of times Paya had crossed the room in front of the washroom door was beyond measure, and Impa was attempting to distract her from wearing a groove in the floor by engaging her in a conversation about what tea to drink when the door finally slid open, revealing the two guards with the conscious and cleaned swordsman propped up between them. "Here he is, fresh from an ill-timed fight with a Lynel!" A loud gasp from Paya brought all eyes in the room to her. With a brief shake of his head, watching the young woman shrink into the corner, Dorian continued, "and with your permission, Lady Impa, we will get him settled at the inn." He ended with a slight bow in Impa's direction.

Impa practically proclaimed, "Don't bother carting him across the village! Master Link is welcome to recuperate in our home. Paya has already arranged her room for his stay. Please, young hero, make yourself comfortable, although I am afraid that you will have to navigate a staircase."

Link gave the old woman a watery smile and thanked her for her generosity.

The guards began to move him to the stairs, but Link protested. "Let me try it myself first." The guards stepped back respectfully, but when Link took his first step his leg buckled and he collapsed in a painful, embarrassed heap. The guards scooped him up wordlessly and carried him to bed while Paya followed behind.

Up in the bedroom, Dorian turned to Paya and launched into an explanation of the adventurer's treatment. "We were most concerned with stopping Master Link's bleeding and covering his burns, which I am confident we accomplished. However, his ankle needs more attention, but we need to get back to-"

"Finding my lost cucoos!" Cado interjected with a note of panic in his voice.

"Guard duty." Dorian continued, giving his fellow guard a stern look. "Are you able to care for him on your own, or would you like me to send Lasli over to help?"

_Lasli?_ A sudden feeling of protectiveness for the wounded hero caught at Paya with unexpected ferocity. She considered the young woman who worked in the village's clothing store to be a close friend, but at the moment, she was overcome with rivalry. _She told me right after Master Link first came to town that he was just her type! I don't think I want her anywhere near him while he recovers!_ The uncharitable thought unnerved her, and she forced her feelings down into a tiny imaginary ball in the back of her consciousness, hoping none of what just passed through her mind expressed itself on her face.

Making sure she was composed enough to speak clearly, she answered, "Thank you two so much for your help. Grandmother and I are so glad you found and aided him." She glanced at Link, who was lying limply in the bed, either unaware or uncaring that they were talking about him without including him in the conversation, and clasped her hands together below her chin. "I think...I think I'll be able to wrap up the rest of his injuries by myself." She furrowed her brow. "I am well trained in first aid," she added, as if to convince herself as well as the men in the room.

"Of course. We will take our leave then. Heal quickly, young man." She heard them tramp down the stairs and offer their goodbyes to Impa as she walked across the room.

_OK Paya_, she said to herself, mentally steeling herself for the task ahead. _Time to show some initiative! Spread that salve! Bandage him up! Give him an elixir!_

Her pep talk was all for naught. She was so nervous she dropped a roll of bandages when she caught Link's gaze while stepping to the bedside.

"How-how are you feeling, M-master..." She trailed off, suddenly unable to move the words out of her mouth.

The supine patient twitched his hand, attempting an all-encompassing gesture, which Paya immediately followed through with her eyes. She then felt heat rise in her cheeks as Link spoke up. "Well, my skin is shredded and burned all over my body, my ankle is beginning to puff up like an Octorok, it hurts when I breathe deeply-" He demonstrated this, then suddenly winced as pain radiated through his ribs. He groaned and continued, more slowly, "last but not least, I've got a pounding headache. It looks like you've brought up some elixirs. Do you have anything that's good for pain?"

"Oh, of course, Master Link! I'm so sorry I didn't think of it immediately." She blushed brighter with shame. How could she be so thoughtless, asking him how he felt? As if she didn't know he had to have been suffering as they spoke.

She turned to the box of elixirs she had brought to her room earlier and began rummaging around for something useful. In her embarrassment, she let forth a running commentary of her thoughts. It seemed she could not trust her tongue to know when to stop and start speaking. "Let's see here, this one is for fever, this is for chills, there's a whole row of defensive elixirs...those look quite old...ah, here's something that should help!" Paya held up a small bottle of sparkling pink liquid. "A fairy tonic! This is an old family recipe; it speeds healing and it relieves pain as well, though it might make you a bit sleepy, but you probably need a rest, oh, now I'm just blabbing on, I'm sorry..."

Link waited patiently while Paya muttered and clinked by the table. His shallow breathing slowed as he relaxed in the bed, trying to take his mind off the pain by looking around the room. It was spacious and airy, with furniture scattered around its edges. A sprig of plum tree blossomed in a vase on a writing desk at the foot of the bed. And what was that book left open on the desk?

"There's only one bottle of this, so after I've helped you here, I need to go catch some fairies...or get someone else to do it." Paya looked pensive, eyes unfocusing slightly as she thought about her plan for the rest of the day. Maybe if she concentrated on something else, anything else, she could distract herself from the hero on the bed. Her bed. A man was lying in her bed. Battered and bruised, to be sure, but there he was, real as the day was long and waiting for her-  
-waiting-  
-for her to give him the medicine!

Paya came back to reality with an alarmed squeak, and she rushed over to the bedside with the bottle, a jar of salve, and more bandages.

"Here, drink this. Do you need help sitting up? You probably can't drink laying flat on your back." She tried to offer a hand to grab, then realized her arms were still full of supplies. "Oh dear. Hang on. Let me just-" and she dumped her things on an empty spot on the bed, hoping desperately that none of it landed on his legs, and offered her hand again. She knew her face was once again flaming, but Link did not mention her eternal awkwardness. They moved him carefully into a sitting position, and Link quickly quaffed the elixir. New life seemed to flow through his body and he sat up straighter with ease. "Wow, this stuff is amazing! I feel so much better already!"

"I am so pleased to hear you say that, because now I have to examine your ankle to see if it's broken."

Link flashed her a loopy grin, catching Paya off guard and nearly making her fumble the jar of salve she was now clutching to her chest with all her strength. "Do your worst, O wise healer. I can't feel a thing!"

Paya returned his smile with a small nod. "I'll be as gentle as I can. You might think you can't feel anything right now, but you'll probably change your mind when I'm searching for broken bones." She sat down on the bed and scooted over to his feet.

It took all the courage she had to lift Link's injured right leg and roll the hem of his pants up to his knee. This wasn't the first time she had been so close to a person who wasn't her grandmother, and she had previous experience with patching up fellow villagers' wounds, so she couldn't understand why she felt like this was a completely novel situation...

She quietly released a long, slow breath, and began to examine Link's leg. There was an abrasion, or maybe a burn, on his knee and a deep cut on his upper calf, both neatly wrapped in translucent gauze. Faded scars from a lifetime ago were scattered across his flesh. His skin was not quite dark enough to be called tan, but there was enough contrast to highlight the dusting of golden leg hair running up and down his leg. Her gaze ran up from his shapely calf, past his bandaged knee, and settled on his thigh. She wondered if the rest of his body hair was that same radiant color. His trousers were soft and worn, and they draped smoothly over the musculature of his upper leg. It registered dimly in the back of Paya's mind that her breathing was getting shallower and her pulse was speeding up. She admonished herself again when she belatedly realized that she was staring at the wrong end of his leg. _Try to keep it professional, Paya! Master Link is seriously injured, and he's probably wondering why you're not doing anything yet again!_ She turned her attention back to his ankle, which she noted was swollen enough to conceal the bone structure beneath, and the surrounding skin was mottled with purple and blue bruises.

"I'm going to put some medicine on your ankle now. This is Ice Chu jelly salve, and it will reduce your swelling." She dipped her fingers into the jar and scooped out a generous blob. Gently she rubbed in the cooling salve, fingers light as a dusting of snow flakes, and felt for any misplaced bones. "I hope I'm not hurting you, Master Link," she whispered. A contented sigh escaped from Link's lips and she felt his muscles relax a little.

"Can you wiggle your toes at all? Try to move your foot up and down for me." She looked down expectantly at the foot in her lap, and nearly choked with suppressed laughter when she heard a cheery "Oh, I toe-tally can!" from beside her. An enthusiastic toe twitch followed shortly after.

"That's a relief. Your ankle isn't broken then." Paya wrapped the ankle with quick efficiency, then placed it on a low stack of pillows.

Link was starting to drift off. The combination of fairy tonic and exhaustion from his battle would ensure that he napped for a few solid hours. Paya quietly stood up and placed the supplies on her vanity. What would the hero want when he awoke? A quick sweep of her room revealed only a water jug and a chamber pot. Oh dear. She would be busy bringing up more things, like his clothes and equipment, which must be down in the washroom. He might be hungry when he woke, what would he like to eat? She'd need to start cooking supper soon, and extra now that they had a guest, if you could call him that. How much did Master Link eat? Probably as much as any of the men in the village, she supposed. He was on the short side but he was solid muscle, as she recalled from the weight of his leg in her lap.

* * *

Paya couldn't stop her mind from chasing questions, circling through the same topics while her body acted on another track entirely. She found herself outside with her arms full again and gulped a breath of fresh air. The day had strayed so far from her usual routine, and seeing the late afternoon sun refreshed her mind.

Was it too late for the girls to be out? No, there was Cottla running full tilt down the road.

"Hi hi hi Paya! Koko won't play tag with me and I'm bored!" The little girl skidded to a halt in front of the young woman and looked up at her eagerly.

"Well, Cottla, I can't play with you right now, but instead, would you like to do a fun thing for me for a little bit?"

"Maybe...if it really is fun..." She shrugged and started to dig her toe into the dirt.

"Master Li..li..li..." She couldn't even say his name aloud to a child. "I mean I need some fairies. To cook with." Cottla's eyes grew wide with horror. "I don't mean it like that! Oh, I'm so flustered today! I need a fairy to help me add magic to a potion! It doesn't hurt the fairy!" Cottla relaxed, but a skeptical look remained on her face. "I promise. Can you help me? I bet you are really good at being sneaky. I wonder, can you catch more fairies than Koko? Take your sister, take these nets and bottles," she held out a neatly wrapped package, "and go up to the fairy fountain. I'll be by the cooking pot, so meet me there when you're finished!" Finally convinced, the little girl ran up the hill, shrieking her sister's name. Smiling fondly after her retreating figure, Paya started making her rounds to the shops along the street.

Back at home, Paya went up and down the stairs repeatedly, each time carrying some item that she thought Master Link might need. A larger cup for water. The softest blankets she could find in the closets. A pack of playing cards. A tea set. A bowl of leftover shrine offering apples. As a Sheikah who took her training seriously, she was as quiet as a whisper each time she entered the room. From time to time she glanced at Link's sleeping form, not daring to risk a longer look in case he woke up and caught her. It struck her how noble he looked, even while unconscious. Handsome, too. Oh yes, even with scrapes criss-crossing his face and his hair forming a bird's nest around his head, she was suddenly and irrevocably certain he was the most handsome man she had ever seen in her entire life.

But she couldn't spend all afternoon sneaking peeks at the slumbering hero. It was time to cook supper and make the fairy elixir.


	2. Chapter 2

That evening, Paya walked up the stairs, laden with a tray full of food as well as the Sheikah Slate, still attached to a belt, dangling from her arm.

Link was awake, sitting up in bed while he crunched through the bowl of apples. Paya followed his line of sight and realized he was looking at the desk where her diary was laying open. _Oh no no no_, she thought, _How could I have forgotten to put that away? I need to hide it quick, that's not supposed to be out where he can see!_ She strode over to the desk and swept it clear before placing the tray and Slate down. With her back turned to Link to shield her actions, she buried the diary under a stack of books off to the far side of the desk.

Supper consisted of a large bowl of creamy vegetable soup, a generous pile of bread rolls in a covered dish, and for dessert, a slice each of both carrot cake and pumpkin pie.

"That smells amazing, Paya. Did you cook all that yourself?" Link asked with naked hunger as Paya handed the tray over to him.

"Not quite, and not all on the same day! Koko helped me, do you know she's a lovely cook?" She stepped back from the bed and clasped her hands over her chest. "I need to serve Grandmother her food...do you mind? I'll be back soon."

Link looked up in between gulping spoonfuls of his soup and made a dismissive gesture with the roll in his hand. "Go on. I'll be fine. This is delicious!"

* * *

Impa told her to get back upstairs. "That boy's been alone since he came out of the chamber. It won't hurt me a bit to eat by myself. Both my legs work and I'm still within yelling distance, aren't I?" She slapped her knee and chuckled softly. "He needs a friend, my dear. Go."

Paya mounted the stairs again, a mixture of dread and excitement swirling in the pit of her stomach, with a bowl of soup for herself and several extra napkins clutched in her hands. She set the bowl down on her vanity and gaped at the clean tray in Link's lap. He was polishing off the last bites of cake off the dessert plate... She hadn't been gone that long...

She sat down on her vanity's stool and picked up her bowl. In an effort to distract him from staring at her while she ate her soup, she said, "I...I hope the food was to your liking. I didn't know which you'd prefer more, cake or pie, so I gave you both."  
He looked down at the chunk of pie left on his plate and a look of intense concentration formed on his face. "Well, if pressed, I'd have to say...I like...um...pie? No, the cake! Wait...both are delicious...why is it so hard to decide?" A flash of his smile disarmed Paya, and she silently sipped on a spoonful of soup as she cast about for another topic of conversation.

"I gave your clothes to Claree at Enchanted...you know, the clothing store? To be washed and mended. They should be ready in the morning. I hope you don't mind that I did it without asking."

"No no, that's really kind of you. Those are my only other change of clothes, so thanks!"

"I noticed that your belongings... I wanted to keep your things safe...but all I found were your clothes, shoes, and the Sheikah Slate...were your weapons left behind?"

He swallowed his last bite of food. "Ugh, no, I broke them all fighting that Lynel. I didn't have much to begin with, mainly rusty crap that I found in some ruins; probably left over from the Calamity." A shadow passed over his face. "I was completely unprepared for a monster that powerful. It was only by the grace of the goddess that I'm still alive. And with your expert care, I'm feeling much better."

"I'm so g-g-glad, Master Link," she said, playing with her spoon.

"I don't know if it's appropriate dinner conversation, but if you want to hear what happened to me, I don't mind telling you." Not trusting her voice, Paya nodded her assent.

"I was traveling up Lanyaru Promenade to recover a memory. That painter guy hanging out in front of your house told me he recognized the picture in my Sheikah Slate, so I followed his directions and found the area pretty easily. It took a few days to walk there, since I left my horse at a stable."

"Ohhh, what's your horse called?" Paya interrupted. Occasionally a traveling merchant would come through town on a horse or donkey, and she always took the opportunity to pet them. She didn't even mind when they ate the offering apples out of the shrine bowls.

"He's uh, named Dingus." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's quite fitting, really, and it's why he spends a lot of time in the stables." Paya smothered a giggle behind her hand.

"Anyway, I found the place in my picture, it's this archway where the canyon narrows. When I went to walk underneath it, it made me- I felt-" He buried his face in his hands before she could see the expression take shape on it, and made a sound that was suspiciously close to a sob.

"It was like I was sent back in time, but only for a few moments. I remembered everything that happened right there, but not what came before or after, though I could tell, I knew...it was the beginning of the end." His voice was muffled, but Paya could still hear the despondency in his words.

There was no way Paya was going to press him for details, curious though she may be for them. A peculiar warmth flowed through her as she realized he was opening emotionally to her. She let the silence lie between them, wishing she could comfort him in some way, her soup left cooling and forgotten in her lap.

"I must not seem very heroic to you, huh? Crying in your bed over barely remembered fragments of something that happened a hundred years ago, all beat up and unable to defend myself against a solitary monster..." He trailed off, slumped amongst the pillows, suddenly intent on fiddling with a loose flap of the bandage wrapped around his forearm.

Paya worked her mouth open and shut, but no words came out. Settling for a firm shake of her head, she tried to let Master Link know nonverbally that she believed in him, and that showing his emotions didn't disqualify him from heroism. Their eyes met for a moment, warm crimson to cool blue, before she looked down at her bowl again.

Link cleared his throat and continued his story. "I kept walking on the path, but I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. If I had been pointed in the other direction when I recalled the memory, I probably would have walked right back downhill and none of this would have happened.

"A bunch of white-barked trees I'd never seen before caught my eye. I walked over to a copse of them and started picking the mushrooms growing at their feet, and that's when it got me. The Lynel, I mean. It actually snuck up on me, and you know they're not exactly quiet." Paya did not, in fact, know how loud a Lynel was, but she kept that information to herself. "All because I was still overwhelmed by that memory.

"It was not a fair fight. I was so outmatched and unprepared, I still can't believe I escaped with my life. I keep running it through my mind, you know, all the times I could have ducked, all the openings I missed, all the ways I should have been more prepared. Everyone keeps telling me that I'm this legendary hero, but I sure don't feel like it. Maybe I've lost my skills along with my memories?"

"No!" Paya's voice returned to her. All in a rush, the words tumbled out. "You just woke up a few weeks ago from a century of restoration! It's got to take some time for you to feel like yourself again in both mind _and_ body. You can't give up hope. I know you can do it!" Cheeks flaming once again at the conclusion of her outburst, she clapped her hands over her mouth as a small smile twitched at the corners of Link's lips.

"I feel like every other word I've said to you has been 'thank you', but I'm going to say it again. Thank you. Your faith means a lot to me."

Paya almost felt like _she_ could battle the Calamity if he kept speaking to her like that; his words warmed her to the tips of her toes in a way that ran completely opposite to the heat lighting up her face.

Link returned to his story. "I had a couple of wooden clubs with me, which are worthless against anything larger than a Bokoblin; four swords, three of them rusty; a throwing spear; a pot lid for a shield; and a bow with a mostly rotted string, which snapped after half a dozen draws." He counted them out on his fingers as he listed them. "The actual fight isn't much to speak of, it really didn't last that long. I fought as hard as I could, for whatever that's worth," the certainty apparent in his voice, "and there was a period of time when I was feeling confident, like I was finally getting the upper hand, even though I was down to my last rusty broadsword, but then that monster threw me into the air and I landed on my ankle." He gestured at the wrappings. "Couldn't move after that. I rolled behind a big rock right as it started breathing fireballs at me, and I had just enough time and energy to get out my Sheikah Slate and teleport to the shrine that overlooks your village." The note of finality in his voice prompted Paya to raise her eyes to his face. There was a stiffness in his bearing, as if he expected her to tell him that he was a failure after all, and the line of his mouth was set to discourage further conversation. It was with no lack of fortitude that she opened her own mouth to begin speaking.

"Thank you for telling me your story." _Goddesses, that sounded trite. Couldn't she think of something more meaningful to say to him?_ She racked her brain, recalling a phrase he had brought up earlier. "You mentioned before that you didn't seem like a hero, like maybe you had forgotten how?" He nodded, polite blankness smoothing his face. "Well, I suppose you could have been anybody before, you know," _you died_, "your resurrection. But now, you are choosing the path of the hero. You're relearning what that means, and what it requires, and you're not backing down from it. That seems like the most heroic, the most courageous thing of all. And if you need help along the way," she gripped her spoon, "the whole of Hyrule is here to assist you." A strangled noise came from deep in the young man's throat. He turned his head to look at the far end of the room, a shimmer filling his eyes that Paya thought might be held-back tears.

Paya looked down at her bowl, contemplating the cold soup that had congealed inside. "I think I've lost my appetite," she said ruefully.

Link perked up. "If you're not going to eat that, can I?"

She threw him a disbelieving look. "Be my guest. I don't know if it will taste that great, though."

He laughed, a welcome sound after the seriousness of their previous exchange, and accepted the bowl. "You'd be surprised, and probably disgusted, at what I've eaten before. Cold soup does not even make the list!"

When Link was done, Paya gathered the dishes and stacked them on the tray, then went downstairs and checked on Impa, who had finished her supper and begun her nightly meditation.

Back in her bedroom, she offered to rewrap Link's ankle.

"Yes, please! More Chuchu ointment too, please, it's fantastic," he requested.

"Look at this," she said as she unwrapped his ankle. "The swelling is going down already! It's working, but it will take all night before it is completely healed."

After she finished attending to his injury, she retreated to her stool and withdrew a bottle from her pocket. "I made another fairy tonic. This one should be much more effective, it's fresh and made with the magic of five fairies."

Link looked at the bottle, assaying its sparkle, and casually asked, "Do you know the stories they tell about the fairy fountains?"

Holding the bottle to her chest, Paya sputtered with a furious blush, "This isn't a love potion! Why would I- What- It's for healing wounds and pain relief only!"

"Oh yeah?" He raised his eyes to her with his eyebrow cocked. "I haven't heard that one before. I just know what they do with travelers seeking their blessing. I suppose you haven't ever asked the Great Fairy for anything?" He leaned over, motioning for her to give the bottle to him, and grinned.

"I guess we were raised on different tales then," she said, handing over the elixir and averting her eyes so she wouldn't meet his gaze, which at the moment felt like he could see through her clothes. Just when she thought she was getting used to him, her emotions were in disarray again. Why did he have this effect on her?

Seeing her discomfort, his tone grew serious. "Is it going to put me to sleep like that other one did?"

Without making eye contact, she nodded. "That is the side effect when you make it pain relieving." She heard a _clunk_ on the bedside table.

"I'm not ready to call it a night yet," he said with a smile in his voice.

"Oh, well then, what would you like to do?" She glanced up at Link, surprised that he didn't want to simply sleep until he was healed. "Grandmother is probably asleep by now, she goes to bed directly after her evening meditation, so I don't need to check on her. I brought up some cards, we could play a game...or would you like some tea?"

Link leaned in her direction again and replied, "I'm enjoying your company so much, Paya. Why don't you tell me some things about yourself? What's your story?"

That oh-so-familiar warmth spread across her face and up her ears again. "There's not that much to know about, Master Link," she demurred. Link protested, "Everyone's interesting in their own way. Tell me something you've never told anyone else before!" His eyes twinkled with encouragement.

In a sudden burst of courage, she said, "Have I ever told you where my name comes from?"

* * *

Paya didn't consider herself much of a conversationalist, usually keeping her replies short and to the point when she could. She didn't want to bother anyone by rambling or having to listen to something boring, so she often cut her words off before her thoughts were finished. To her surprise, the more she talked with Master Link, the more her words flowed from her. She found herself talking about all manner of things, from her day-to-day life to stories her grandmother had told her when she was little about the hero and the princess. Link listened with genuine interest and he seemed to know just what to say to keep their conversation running smoothly, but he tended to want a bit too much eye contact for her nervous disposition.

During a lull in the conversation, Link asked for the Sheikah Slate. "Have you ever seen one of these before?" he asked as he turned the piece of ancient technology over in his hands.

"Grandmother, of course, has mentioned it to me once or twice, but I believe you have the only one..." Paya said as she shook her head.

"Come over here so you can see the screen. I'll show you what it can do!"

She padded over to the head of the bed and craned her neck to examine the object.

"No, silly, sit down next to me. Being dangerously reckless isn't contagious, as far as I know. You won't start picking fights with Guardians or anything, I promise."

_He wants me to sit next to him?_ A jittery buzz shot through her limbs. _It's probably wearing him out to have to project his voice across the room. What if I hurt him when I sit down? Or accidentally elbow him in the ribs? I'm not so sure this is a good idea, but how can I refuse such a simple request?_

Paya regarded Link, the very picture of good-natured patience, then walked deliberately around the bed to its foot, stepped onto the mattress, and picked her way up the bed, leaning her weight against the wall. She lowered herself next to his non-injured left side while trying to maintain a respectable distance between their bodies, then composed herself, nodding to let Master Link know she was ready to begin.

"Ok, can you see the screen clearly?" He angled the Slate towards her and rested his elbow on a pillow that had worked its way out from behind his back. "Let me show you the runes first. These are so super cool! Somehow -I don't know if it's science or magic-" he added in an undertone, "they let me manipulate matter!" In an increasingly excited voice, he gave a rundown of the runes' functions, but Paya was having a difficult time concentrating on the demonstration. They were sitting awfully close to one another, and though they weren't touching, she could feel the heat emanating from his body. She picked up bits of explanation, "-no bombs inside, of course, I'm not completely irresponsible-" when she wasn't marveling at the shape of his fingernails or concentrating on the way the muscles in his forearms flexed as he tapped at the screen.

A glimmer of reflected light startled her, and it was a few moments before she realized that Master Link was making her mirror levitate with the Magnesis rune. His arms rose, guiding the Slate through the air in a graceful arc as her mirror mimicked his motion on the other side of the room. With his movement came an additional sensation: a smell, and her interest shifted to scrutinizing its origin.

It took her only a single breath to determine that the top notes were somewhat recognizable as the fragrances of the soap and liniment the guards had used on Master Link, but compounding those was another subtle smell, the scent of Link himself. Why didn't she notice it when she was examining his injuries earlier? They were just as close together then as they were now. Perhaps it was because her nervousness overrode some of her perceptions. She was hardly comfortable sharing the room with him, let alone the bed. Now she had the luxury of time, though she knew she ought to be paying attention to Master Link's demonstration instead of inspecting the air coming off him. She continued anyway. She wouldn't be able to concentrate on his words until she had sated her curiosity. His skin and his body heat had transformed the familiar aroma of the common village soap into something extra dimensional; it was something she couldn't quite place, and she wanted to keep breathing it in, to memorize it and understand it.

After a few more inhalations, she realized that she had been aware of his scent before. Her memory snapped back to the first time she had met the hero. On a cloudy afternoon a few weeks before, while she was scrubbing the front porch, the stairs behind her creaked as an unfamiliar tread ascended the steps. Whoever it was had gotten past the guard without much of a problem, so she thought it might have been the artist, Pikango, coming to ask more questions about the fairy fountain. She didn't turn from her task until the footsteps stopped directly behind her and she heard a soft cough meant to catch her attention. When she stood to address the stranger-he didn't say her name, even Pikango would have known to address her by name so as not to surprise her-it was an assault on all her senses. As she took in the young man's handsome form and tried to concentrate on the question he was asking her in a bright tenor voice with an accent she couldn't place, she drew in a startled gasp. The air she inhaled smelled like the breeze that blew on rare days from the east, a crisp and stirring wind, faintly spiced with the scent of exotic flora and something ancient and unknowable, which the elders of the village called the dragon wind. She had nearly hyperventilated in shock, and with perfect clarity she recalled how she yelped, "A man!" instead of greeting him confidently like a normal person was capable of doing. Thank the gods she was able to eventually calm down, though the knowledge that she had completely flubbed her first impression kept popping up in the interim. And now she was reliving that moment, the exhilaration she had felt echoing through time to make her heart race again.

"Would you like to try it out?" Link asked as he placed the Slate in her lap.

Paya snapped out of her reverie. "Oh," she stammered, looking back and forth between the Slate and the man, "I don't...I don't want to break it..." She didn't want to admit that she hadn't heard a single word of what he said and had no idea how to operate the gadget.

"It's survived far worse than anything you could throw at it, believe me. You could even throw it across the room and that wouldn't hurt it. Why don't you hold onto it, and I'll help you, step by step."

She picked up the Slate with visibly trembling fingers, which Link must have noticed, because his next words were not about guidance on operating the rune system but instead, he said,  
"Here, get under the covers, you're shivering!"

Not wanting him to know the real reason for her tremors, she decided to go along with his assumption, untucking the blanket from her side of the bed and slipping her legs under it. "Oh, I'm always cold, and I don't suppose it helps that this house was built right in front of a waterfall..."

"Well, I'm always hot! When I was on my way to your village for the first time, I was caught in a rainstorm on the road, and I had to share a shelter with another traveler, a young woman. She told me that we wouldn't even need to light a fire, since I was heating the structure all by myself..." His face grew thoughtful, eyebrows scrunching together over a slight frown. "Though to be honest, now that I'm saying it out loud, I think she was flirting with me. She was practically sitting in my lap by the time the rain stopped...I thought she was just scared of monsters or something. I never saw a more disappointed look on anyone's face when I told her that I was in a hurry to leave and headed in the opposite direction she was going." He laughed, the sound quickly dying as he caught the look on Paya's face. "I had just woken up from the Chamber of Resurrection," he said sheepishly. "Physically, I was fine, but mentally...I don't think I had all my wits about me yet."

She dropped the Slate and twisted her clammy hands in the sheet. "You're lucky she wasn't a member of the Yiga Clan. I heard they disguise themselves as travelers and ambush people on the road."

"Ooh yeah, I definitely prefer a blow to my ego than one to the back of my head!"

Their laughter was restrained, but Paya was still grateful for the low rumble of the waterfall that muffled their sounds before they could travel downstairs to wake her grandmother. Link stopped short with a pained look and placed a bracing hand on his ribs.  
"If it hurts when you laugh, it's time to take your medicine," she admonished.

"I suppose you're right. I'm tired of sleeping, though, if that makes sense." He picked up the bottle and rolled it between his hands with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Hmmm. Most people do go to sleep at night. I don't think you have to feel bad about that. And in the morning, you should be all healed!"

"Here's to the morning, then!" Link said with a strange mix of cheer and melancholy, then he uncorked the tonic and chugged it down.

"I nearly forgot!" He scrambled for the Slate and turned it on, selecting a new menu. "While we wait for the tonic to take effect, I want to show you the pictures on here! The Slate takes and stores perfect recreations of whatever you view. Frame your subject on the screen," he held the Slate up at arm's length, and Paya looked with amazement at the miniature view of Master Link and her projected on the screen. "Then press the button to record the picture. One, two, three, snap!" The scene on screen froze, showing a grinning Hylian and a bemused Sheikah. "Not bad! I think I'll keep it!" He fiddled with the Slate for a few seconds, then selected the picture that had triggered his first memory, making it fill the screen. "These are the pictures that were on the Slate when I woke up, the ones Princess Zelda took before, you know, the Calamity."

"The Calamity," Paya echoed. Not a trace of the horror and destruction that was to come was hinted at in those peaceful landscapes. They scrolled through the pictures together, one or the other commenting inconsequentially on random details, as Link had no memory of the land and Paya hadn't ever traveled beyond the ring of mountains surrounding her village.

"Wow, Hyrule is so varied in its geography. I've seen illustrations in books, but they really don't compare to this level of precision!" exclaimed Paya. She impulsively grabbed the Slate and tapped at the screen, inadvertently zooming in. "Look at the detail!" She tapped it again and the picture changed, showing what would have been an otherwise run-of-the-mill landscape if not for the nearly nude hero taking up a third of the composition, grinning and gesturing to something offscreen.

"Oh my! How did I do that?" Frantically swiping and tapping at the Slate, she scrolled past a series of pictures of Link in the same shirtless state, brandishing a different weapon and posing more and more ridiculously in each one. Her distress turned to amusement before she registered the fingers gently curling around the edge of the screen, and she realized Link was trying to wrest control of the Slate from her. She handed it back at once and tried to wipe the grin from her lips, lest he take her smile the wrong way.

"And now you've seen everything the Slate can do," he said with a not-completely-convincing air of nonchalance, reaching over to rest the tablet on the bedside table. Turning back to the smiling young woman beside him, he asked, "So Paya, or should I call you Papaya, are you going to tell me where your birthmark is? Or maybe it would be easier to just show me?"

"Master Link! That's inappropriate!" There was her blush, returning right on schedule.

"You're the one who brought it up the first time!" he teased, then inadvertently broke the mood as he struggled to hold back a gigantic yawn. "Excuse me! I feel it now. Or rather, I feel nothing at all, again. Would you care to join me in a short nap?"

"I don't want to impose," she said, a frisson of anticipation blooming in her core at his request. "I have blankets and pillows to make a bed roll anywhere, on the floor, or downstairs even...certainly, you need your personal space!"  
He shook his head so emphatically that his sideburns hit him in the face. Spitting a few strands of hair out of his mouth, he protested, "Not at all! I really think it will help my wounds to have you near. After all, you're the healer. You can move to your bedroll after I've fallen asleep," his voice grew soft as he pleaded, "please, stay with me for a little bit longer."

Having been sufficiently persuaded, Paya shrugged off her short coat and removed her hair sticks, then threw them gracelessly across the room. She then slid down deeper into the bed, resting her head on one of many available pillows while keeping her back against the wall, and watched with concerned eyes as Master Link carefully rearranged his share of the pillows and covers to give himself space to lie down. He moved closer to her in little shuffles and twitches, settling down onto the firm mattress and erasing what little space remained between them.

Their conversation turned to erratic murmurs as the fairy elixir once again worked its magic on the patient. Link rested on his back, eyes closed and hands crossed over his chest, trying to recite a poem he had supposedly heard from a Korok. Halfway through the third line, "If you spy a rock in a tree, ya ha ha, you found me!" his words turned into a gentle snore. Paya scooted closer to him, near enough for his hair, which had long ago escaped its ponytail, to tickle her nose, and she whispered into his ear, over and over, "Hero...you are the hero...chosen hero...my hero..." as if the repetition would convince him of her heart's conviction.


	3. Chapter 3

Consciousness bubbled slowly through Paya's body and mind a few hours later. It was too early to properly be called morning, the cucoos had not begun to crow, but habit dictated that she woke before everyone else in the village. She fought against the rising tide of awareness, trying to sink back into the dream she was having. It was lovely, she had been spending the day with Master Link, and he was just about to tell her—

Wait—

It wasn't a dream!

Without opening her eyes or moving a muscle, Paya used her remaining senses to ascertain her situation. She was lying on her side in her bed _with_ Master Link. Her left leg was sandwiched between his legs from knees to toes, keeping his sprained ankle elevated. His right hand was resting warmly on her hip, and her left hand, along with a swath of twisted blanket, was pressed against his chest. Two heartbeats thumped against either side of it. Gentle breaths played against her face, and then she realized they were sharing a pillow. How he could still be asleep with Paya's heart hammering like an alarm right next to him, she'd never know, but she could feel that his breathing and pulse remained steady and slow.

She focused on her nose. Their faces had aligned during the night and she was only mere millimeters away from Link's own perfect nose. If she moved a tiny bit, so slowly as to be unnoticeable, they would be touching. Being careful to not change the rhythm of her breathing or tense her body, she willed herself closer, and the very tips of their noses just barely grazed each other. It sent an electric thrill through her, and she pondered her next move. Should she keep going? She was shocked at her boldness but she knew this was her perfect, and likely only, opportunity. If Link woke up, the moment was sure to be over. While staying alert for any suggestion of wakefulness or withdrawal from her companion, she allowed herself a moment to let amazement and happiness wash over her. Temptation continued to tug at her until it was too strong to resist, and she moved again, so subtly it was hardly a movement at all. Now she could feel his velvety skin against the tip of her nose. Their breathing synchronized while she took some time to adjust to the new sensation. To simply be touching this man who had emerged from a fairytale felt impossible, and now, here they were, tangled together so intimately in her bed! Her world shrunk to the confines of her mattress as her awareness expanded to all the places where their bodies met. As her concentration flitted to each location in turn, she felt the tension increase between her need to keep her body calm and immobile, and her desire to act upon her impulses.

As time passed and their bodies shifted, Paya couldn't really tell who was moving, her or Link. A force like Magnesis drew them closer and closer together. With every breath, so slowly, unconsciously, now their cheeks were touching... The tops of their upper lips met... Seconds turned to minutes as they approached the boundary between merely resting their lips together and kissing, then she realized, they were _kissing_.

They were kissing and his lips were so soft! The rest of his body was hard with muscle and calluses, but his lips were softer than she could have imagined. How was this happening? In her recent idle moments, she had begun to imagine conversations she and Master Link would have, or what they might do if they found themselves alone together, but every time her thoughts would progress past the beginning of a scenario she shut them down quickly. Lasli had joked that Paya suffered from a failure of imagination, but Paya knew it was more like a mental block. Grandmother never tired of reminding her that unchecked daydreaming was a sign of an untrained mind, and if she ever hoped to rise higher through the ranks of the Sheikah she'd have to rein in her impulses. She _knew_ it was bad form to lose one's self in fantasy, so for all the time her mind spent wandering, she was adept at setting her fantasies aside, choosing instead to slip into a meditative state. This method usually served her well, so it was disconcerting to find out over the past day that she had been unable to keep her mind on anything but the object of her infatuation while he was nearby. What was even worse was that she didn't have much to show for it; she was completely fixated on the current state of the man with her and not any future activities the two of them might share, save for an innocent game of cards. So this situation she found herself in was all the more surprising for its existence. Imagined or real, she had nothing to compare it to, and no concrete path forward that she felt confident on which to continue.

And as for Master Link, was he awake, or was he asleep and dreaming, thinking he was with the princess? That was an idea she couldn't bear to explore further, so she forced herself to get out of her head, to stop thinking and _worrying_ and just experience this fantastic, miraculous kiss. The bright spark that had formed when they first touched lips jumped to her chest, then spread throughout her body to envelop her in delicious warmth. She moved her head by a fraction to press her lips more completely to his, melting for a moment to feel their smooth yet firm texture against hers, then she barely withdrew them, feeling their breaths move through the small space that had opened between their mouths. Their mouths returned together once more, and this time, Link tilted his head slightly, parting his lips just enough to draw in Paya's lower lip. Too gentle to be called biting —though she thought she could feel the slightest graze of teeth— not strong enough to be considered sucking, the feeling of directed pressure nevertheless overwhelmed her, and no amount of Sheikah training could suppress the desperate whimper that escaped from her throat, soft and nearly inaudible though it was.

The sound was enough to lift Link from his semblance of slumber, and he rolled away across the bed and stretched as if it was the most natural thing in the world to be kissed awake. The bed creaked a bit and the mattress wobbled as he sat up. Paya held her breath in anticipation of what Master Link would say to her, but instead, she only felt the soft weight of the bed covers pile up around her as he uncovered the rest of his body. "Paya?" he whispered, turning back to the young woman whose eyes were screwed shut in a pretense of sleep. He laid an inquisitive hand on her shoulder. "Are you awake? I think my ankle is all healed up, but I'd like a second opinion."

Paya lay frozen in the bed, hoping and praying to the goddesses that she appeared convincingly nonchalant as she fluttered her eyelids open and yawned. "Oh, Master Link, I apologize for sleeping all night in this bed with you! You should have had space to rest and I've impeded your recuperation!"

"No, no, it's alright, staying with me was the best thing you could do for me, I wanted you to stay with me, don't you remember?" The barest hint of nervousness and disappointment crept into his voice. "If anything, I've taken advantage of your generosity!"

"No, you could never..." She had the impression that if their conversation continued, they'd be apologizing about more and more ridiculous things until lunchtime, or he might start apologizing for kissing her, and she wasn't in the mood to have her heart broken right then. "Here, I will examine your leg again. Let's see what the medicine has done." She sat up and began a serious attempt to inspect his injury, which once again devolved into giving him a discreet and thorough once-over. The burns, cuts and bruises were absent from his body, healed as completely as if they never existed in the first place, leaving him whole, healthy, and handsome as ever. "And your ribs? How do they feel? How is your breathing?" If only she could examine him with something more tangible than her gaze, or if she were allowed to let her hands roam higher than his ankle. He breathed deeply and smiled at her in a way she knew she would never get used to, and said, "There's no pain at all!"

"In that case, I declare you healed. How do you feel, overall?" As an answer, he hopped off the bed and backflipped across the room. From anyone else it would have looked ridiculous, an ostentatious display clearly meant to show off, but somehow, he was guileless, simply accomplishing an alternate way of stretching out his muscles.

Seeing Master Link look so fresh and so vibrant contrasted horribly with how rumpled Paya felt, both in her clothing and in her mental state, but she did not let it deter her from speaking up. She had to know. Was he aware of what had happened between them? Would he be willing to continue? She looked up from her lap where her hands were knotting themselves in nervousness and noticed that his eyes were scanning the room. What was he looking for? A way to escape? The words came tumbling out of her mouth before she could second guess herself, "Master- Master Link, I want-"

Link spoke up at the same time. He pointed at the chamber pot tucked under the foot of the bed and said with a note of urgency, "My apologies, but if I could..." His request wasn't finished before Paya understood what he was asking for, and she hurried out of the bed, snatching up her coat from where it lay crumpled on the floor and making half-formed excuses about breakfast and grandmas and laundry as she fled from the room.

* * *

While she helped her grandmother cook breakfast, a painful back-and-forth ran through Paya's mind.

_He kissed me!_  
_...but he didn't acknowledge it after he woke up._  
_But we kissed!_  
_...and then I ran away instead of talking to him._  
_I kissed him!_  
_...and he's going to go save the princess and start kissing her instead._

* * *

Breakfast was a strained affair. "I see Paya's ministrations have set you back to rights, young hero!" Impa said as Link came into the room. Twin blushes graced the cheeks of both youths, and Paya dropped her head to stare at her lap, while Master Link stammered a response as he sat himself at the far end of the table. After a polite but brief exchange of words, the three were silent as they ate their meal. If Paya thought she and the hero had come to some friendly understanding the night before, the thought died in her heart as she watched Master Link wolf down his breakfast with nary a word or smile in her direction. A wall of empty serving dishes gradually built up between the young man and the rest of the table as he went through more and more helpings of food. Paya respected the new distance between them by looking down pointedly every time he looked her way. Nearly completely unable to concentrate on her own food, she turned instead to mentally analyzing, then reanalyzing, and then over-analyzing everything Master Link had said and done since arriving in the village yesterday, trying to come to a conclusion that both satisfied her hopes and could stop the rapidly widening chasm in her soul from opening further. After managing to work her way through half a bowl of porridge, she had no more of a clue about what was going on than when they were embracing in her bed. How could she still feel elated yet also feel so empty at the same time?

"Please pass the butter," said the breakfast guest from his end of the table.

It was selfish of her to assume that he was interested in her, let alone express any affection in front of her grandmother, Paya realized. He had been nothing but polite and respectful while simultaneously dealing with extensive and painful wounds, and she had been too forward, presumptuous in her thoughts and actions. She would have to try harder to maintain the detachment she should have kept in place since his arrival in the village.

"Pass the goat butter, please," Link repeated, and when Paya didn't respond, Impa coughed sharply and nodded at the table between them, where a dish of butter sat by Paya's elbow. Startled, she passed the dish quickly across the table toward the hero's waiting hands, but in her haste she let go too soon, and with a thick, sickening _plop_ it landed in the serving bowl of porridge.

"_Oh!_ I am so, so sorry," she breathed, and scrambled for some napkins, not daring to look up from the splatter to gauge his reaction as her grandmother brayed with laughter from the head of the table.

By the end of the meal, she had finally managed to tamp down her agitation by silently repeating the phrase _smooth apple, calm water_ until she felt relatively normal again, but the root of her anxiety remained. Whether it would die out completely or blaze anew with neglect was something she could not predict. In the meantime, she felt that the house was filling with tension, and to escape the mounting pressure surrounding her, she left after carrying the breakfast dishes back to the kitchen.

* * *

The sun was just peeking over the mountains to shine brightly on the houses nestled in the valley as Paya walked up the central road to the clothing store. A few villagers who were going about their daily business exchanged pleasantries with Paya with a little more than their usual enthusiasm, and she made it a point to keep walking as she greeted each one so she wouldn't get mired in any conversations. It wasn't long before she heard another familiar voice as she neared the shop. "Hey, girl! Getting hot and heavy last night, eh?" Lasli called out from her post by the front steps of Enchanted.

"Good morning, Lasli. What was that?" Innocent confusion clouded her face as she greeted her friend. _Hot and heavy? Did Master Link tell Lasli about his encounter with the traveler in the storm, too? Does she know how much he weighs? Is it because he bought clothing here?_

"You're still sporting yesterday's clothes." The fashionable Sheikah raised a hand to point at her own elegantly coiffed and accessorized hair. "And your hair sticks are missing. He pulled them out in a fit of passion, didn't he? I always took him for a man of action." She squinted critically at the young woman standing stiffly in front of her and pursed her lips. "You walked up the hill just fine, though. I guess his injuries managed to slow him down a bit!"

Paya held her wrinkled overcoat closed with one hand —_where had her belt gone?_— and pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her friend's keen eyes had seen what she had neglected during the stress of the morning. How could she have walked out of her house without taking a few minutes to ready herself for the day? It didn't take much to throw her whole routine out the window, though she'd never had her schedule upended like this before. And now Lasli thought it was because she and Master Link had...they had...An explosive blush reddened her cheeks as she finally realized what her friend was insinuating.

"No, no, we didn't! It wasn't...all we did was-" she clamped her mouth shut and threw her hands over it for good measure. This was neither the time nor the place to air such intimate details. Lasli's eyes grew wide. She leaned back in shock, then swayed forward to ask, "All you did was _what_? I was mostly teasing, I know what a delicate little plum blossom you are!" She grabbed hold of Paya's arm and shook it gently, trying to dislodge it from her mouth. "What did you doooo?"

"I'll tell you later. I have to- I have to..." Brushing her friend's hand away, her composure broken again, she almost turned around to go back home before she remembered that she was there to retrieve Master Link's clothing. Catching herself and ignoring Lasli's repeated pleas for more information, she walked into the shop and greeted the owner with as much calm neutrality as she could muster. "Good morning, Claree. I have come for Master Link's clothing." If she sounded a tad formal, she couldn't help it; her natural deference to others was asserting itself again.

"Good morning, Paya. I thought I heard you outside! How is the young hero?" The Sheikah merchant smiled and gestured at a carefully folded stack of multicolored fabric resting next to her on the counter, and Paya stepped up to it. "He's doing well," she said noncommittally, believing it wasn't her place to tell others about the details of Master Link's recovery. She shook out the shirt on top of the pile and held it up to the light, remarking, "You did an expert job mending these, Claree, I can hardly tell where it was torn! I can't thank you enough!" Folding the shirt back into a neat rectangle and passing a handful of rupees across the counter toward the beaming lady, she scooped the pile of clothing into her arms.

"That swordsman is good for my business, isn't he? I only wish it wasn't at the expense of his health and safety! Will you be by later? I'd love to hear the latest news from around town, and you've been right in the thick of it!" Claree said, fixing Paya with a look that made her wonder what else she heard outside the door.

"Oh, I'm afraid that I will most likely be as busy today as I was yesterday, but I will try to come around again soon." She crept toward the door, wondering when she would cease to be the center of the villagers' attention. "Have a nice day!"

"You too, dear! Don't be a stranger!" the shopkeeper called to Paya's retreating figure.

Trusting her friend to know that she was in a hurry, Paya walked right past Lasli without stopping to say goodbye, electing only to give her a little wave as she turned down the road.

"If you don't come back before noon, I'm hunting you down on my lunch break!" the shop girl shouted cheerfully after her.

* * *

Paya found Master Link up in her room, his bandages removed, with one graceful leg tucked under his thigh as he sat on the edge of her bed. His bare foot dangled near the floor, and his head was lowered, fully absorbed in flicking through the pictures on the Sheikah Slate. She tore her gaze away from the golden glory of his loose hair to glance at the stack of books under which her diary was hidden, but it looked undisturbed. She cleared her throat and he looked up at her approach. "Wow, you're really quiet. I didn't even hear the stairs creak when you came up!"

Paya handed Link his clothes and told him Impa wished to speak with him about his memories. Gesturing toward her vanity, she offered the use of her comb to make himself more presentable, then without waiting to hear his reply, she hurried downstairs to clean the breakfast dishes.

Link's conversation with Impa about his recovered memory was much shorter than the ones he had previously endured, and he left the front room quickly after receiving and changing into his Champion's tunic. He searched for Paya through the rest of the house, finding her elbow-deep in sudsy water in the corner of the kitchen. The tread of his footsteps was familiar to her by now, and she turned and stared at the transformed man before her. The electric blue of his eyes drew her gaze first, and even though he was wearing a new shirt that matched their brilliant color, it also enhanced them, so all she wanted to do was lose herself in those two mesmerizing eyes. Dishes all but forgotten, a few soap bubbles dripped from her fingertips onto the floor as she watched Master Link cross the room. Her gaze finally broke free from his face to roam over his hair, which was smoothed into its customary ponytail, then she continued to look down at his new clothing. She recognized his tunic from having seen it briefly a few times before. It had previously lived in a small chest in Impa's meditation space, and she knew it was nearly as precious as the heirloom she dusted each day. Grandmother had told her it was sewn from fabric the princess herself had woven. The tunic changed his entire bearing. It made him seem like one weight had been lifted from him and another had been placed in its stead, and she realized that she would not be able to add to that weight by confessing her feelings toward him. He stopped walking when he was less than a pace away, and she found her mouth opening of its own accord. Somehow, she had something to say to him after all.

"You...you look like...you're the chosen hero of legend!"

"That's what Impa said, too." Tugging at the hem of his tunic then running his hand through his hair, a nervous tic that pained her to admit ran counter to her image of him as the unflappable hero, never mind the fact that he had broken down sobbing in front of her the night before, he replied, "I may look the part, but I don't feel like it, I feel...like me, and I'm still not really sure who that feels like, either."

He reached for her damp hand and she allowed him to grasp it, feeling the firm leather of his glove surrounding her fingers and his calloused thumb running over her knuckles. She sighed, the icy nervousness gripping her heart since breakfast thawing slightly, and she said, "But you're out there doing it anyway. You're fighting because you know it's the right thing to do." They stood silently for a few moments. Paya started to get anxious again. _What is Master Link going to do? Why isn't he responding? Did I say something wrong?_

Reluctantly, after a little squeeze, he removed his hand from hers and cleared his throat. "I wanted to say goodbye before I left. The Divine Beasts, they need to be brought back under our control. I have to free them from Ganon's malice."

"Yes. Of course." Duty before all else. She would expect nothing less than for him to immediately throw himself back into his destiny. Why would he stay here any longer than was necessary, especially when she'd been reminding him that he'd be ready to go first thing in the morning...Clearly what had passed between them was something of a fluke, a momentary lapse in behavior from both their parts, never to be repeated. Here was her answer. Though her heart sank a little to realize it, the knowledge firmed her resolution to keep her distance, and she made sure her face betrayed nothing.

"We'll talk again. Won't we?" The vulnerability in his voice surprised her and she met his searching gaze with rekindled hope in her heart…Was she wrong about him? Was she wrong about everything?…If he was open to the possibility of future conversations, then what else could she look forward to? No, this line of thought was dangerous…The emotional whiplash she was suffering at the moment was unacceptable! She tried to detach herself from her sudden flood of emotions by repeating her calming mantra. _Smooth apple, calm water. Smooth apple, calm water. Smooth skin, blue water. Soft lips, blue eyes. Oh no! It doesn't work anymore!_

The silence stretched. Paya had to reply. "Kakariko Village is my home. I will be here if-" an alarmed noise from Link made her amend her words, "_when_ you come back. And we will t-talk." Talking. She could be satisfied with that. She could welcome that, when it happened, after enough time had passed and she could view these past two days with enough detachment that she wouldn't be standing in front of Master Link as a sweaty, trembling mess who couldn't string together three words without stuttering, as she always did when she spoke to him, and as she was beginning to do again. Her arms rose in a protective gesture to hover in front of her chest, but when her hands reached the level of her collarbones, she pushed them away, unsure of whether she wanted to hug herself or rest them on Master Link's shoulders. He grabbed her hands before she could make up her mind and leaned in to give her a quick peck on the cheek. She gasped and flinched, and he jerked back and let go, saying, "I'm sorry, I should have asked before I did that."

"Oh no, It's not that- I don't mind at all!" _Don't mind? Like he's mildly inconvenienced you by giving you exactly what you wanted?_ "I didn't think you, you didn't seem, I didn't know you wanted to..."

Fortunately, Master Link seemed to understand the meaning in her garbled protestations, and he looked at her with an indulgent expression. "Of course I want to. Am I that hard to read? I guess I should use my words more." He wanted to kiss her! Oh Goddesses! She'd never been so happy to be so wrong before in her entire life! Before she could let that sink in, she realized he was still speaking, and she focused instead on his words.

"I'm sorry about breakfast. I didn't really know what to say with Impa sitting right there, watching my every move. Whenever I look at her, I can see one hundred years of judgement looking right back at me, and I kind of freeze up."  
Paya nodded in acknowledgement. A part of her eventual conclusion had been correct. After all, who wouldn't be a little frightened by the formidable stare of her grandmother?

Master Link continued, "The Impa I 'knew' was a hundred years younger, and even without the benefit of my memories I have the feeling the intervening century hasn't mellowed her out any."

A nervous giggle threatened to erupt from Paya's mouth as she tried to imagine her grandmother as a young woman. "Ha ha, I'm afraid it is just the opposite!" Mellow? There were many words to describe her grandmother and mellow was not one she would have picked.

"She already yelled at me for taking my time to get to the village. She yelled at me to go tame the beasts and save the princess. I don't want to hear what she'll say if she catches me with you!"

"She yelled at you?" she whispered incredulously. Her grandmother could be expressive at times, and quite loud when she laughed, but she couldn't believe that she would go so far as to yell at the resurrected knight. Maybe Master Link had a similarly disruptive effect on Grandmother, as well.

"Well," he shrugged and clarified, "no. She never actually raised her voice to me. But her meaning came across loud and clear."

Paya smiled knowingly. She had been on the receiving end of Grandmother's lectures plenty of times. It was exhausting. But before she could share one of her less embarrassing stories and commiserate with him, he abruptly changed the subject.

Link took a half-step closer and asked, "Before I leave, may I try again?" with a tilt of his head that made his intent obvious.

She nodded haltingly and stood still, with her back straight and her eyes shut. When she felt his breath against her cheek, she had to clutch his shoulders to steady herself. Awkwardness was coming to claim her before Master Link could even touch her, but once again, all her uneasiness melted away and her worries almost seemed trifling once his lips were on hers. It was easy this time to lose herself in their actions, and she gave herself over to her enthusiasm. But the knowledge that he was on his way to resume his dangerous mission to seal the darkness crept back into her thoughts to keep their kiss from being all sweetness and light, and before she knew it the kiss was over.

They parted, Paya remaining still, stunned by the reality of their kiss. She turned her head to the side, gathering strength to tell him what she knew she ought to say. "Master Link, I…I can't ask you to carry this burden, this affection I have for you, as well. You've got too much to worry about as it is!"

"It's no burden to know that you care for me, but I think I understand. Just wish me good luck, and I can leave here feeling more like a person and less like an instrument of the Goddess," he replied, giving her a slightly lopsided smile that reignited the smoldering desire in her heart.

She enveloped him in a hug and whispered in his ear, "Goodbye and good luck, my hero." He reached for the Sheikah Slate that was resting in its customary place against his hip, and Paya stopped him with a hand on his forearm, asking him hesitantly, "I don't mean to be pushy, but could you do that outside? Maybe where some of the villagers can see you? They're all so fond of you, and to see you recovered from your injuries would set their minds at ease…and it would save me the hassle of explaining your whereabouts to every person I see in the next few days!"

His smile grew wider. "Sure thing! Escort me outside?" And he linked their arms to walk together through the kitchen and the front room, continuing past where Impa sat, midway through her morning meditation, and ending at the large wooden front door. The aura of the aged Sheikah prevented them from extending their goodbyes, so Paya simply opened the door silently for Master Link to slip through. Once outside, he made his way down the steps with exaggerated vigor, greeting Cado heartily before looking up and down the road to see if he had attracted an audience yet. After a few interested bystanders stopped to watch, he brought out the Slate, keyed in some coordinates, waved to the gathered crowd, and teleported away. The whole spectacle took no more than a few minutes, though Paya remained by the window long after she watched him dissolve into a network of shimmering blue threads. She turned from the window, walking deeper into the house and ready to resume her regular routine before her grandmother could comment on her idleness. The ember of devotion she carried for Master Link was content to remain banked in her heart. She vowed to protect it until his return, which she hoped happened sooner rather than later and would not be accompanied by another grievous injury.


End file.
